Flayosc

About thirty kilometres from the Mediterranean coast and not far from the Gorges of Verdon, Flayosc is a large village in the Haut Var very near Draguignan.

Perched on a hillock surrounded by vineyards and olive orchards, Flayosc is set out around its imposing bell tower with a wrought-iron campanile.
A medieval and typically Provençal village, it was protected by a circular row of houses. You will also be able to see some remaining parts of its defensive wall and three town gates: the Portes Sarrasine, Cresson and Paris.
Modern apartment buildings have been built at the spot where the medieval castle of the lords of Villeneuve once stood before being destroyed during the French Revolution. But the apartments, painted in pastel tones, blend in quite well with the old architecture and given that no major road crosses the village, it is quite a pleasure to stroll along its little streets.
The big flowering squares with beautiful fountains and the smaller squares shaded by hundred-year-old sycamores invite you to rest your feet.
In the centre of the village, you will find the Saint-Laurent Church. Originally just a chapel when it was built in the 11th century, it was altered and enlarged in the 16th and 18th centuries.

​Just after the wine cooperative, there is a washhouse dating from 1870 that has a very original trapezoidal shape and is surmounted by a wooden roof covered in red tiles and supported by 9 pillars. The water channel running through it leaves a space in the centre that made room for more washerwomen to come with their laundry. And chat up a storm!

If you keep following that channel, a path will show you the hidden corner of Flayosc. Shaded and bordered by low walls, the path leads past gardens and beneath hanging flowers and sometimes an overhead walkway.

A lot of Flayosc's interest resides in its natural and rural heritage.

A wine-making village, it is located in the AOC Côtes de Provence region and has several vineyards that open their doors to you to let you discover their wines.

If you prefer hiking, as you leave the village take the Route to Sauveclare for 2.5 kilometres through meadows and pine forest to arrive at this hamlet with its very pretty chapel. On the side of the route 2 kilometres to the south of the village, a delightful little cascade will catch your eye.

Six kilometres from Flayosc, heading towards Tourtour along an unpaved road, the old Roman road, you will find a remarkably well-preserved Roman bridge crossing a shallow gorge.

The commune of Flayosc also has on its territory the Natura 2000 Zone and what's called a ZNIEFF (Natural Zone of Ecological, Faunistic and Floristic Interest).